Has driving a Prius made you a better driver?

I drive nicer now, for sure.

I still like to start quickly, I figure the quicker I can get up to speed the sooner I can start running on electric. But otherwise, yes. And the car is much higher quality so I feel safer too

 

Compared to my last daily driver, this vehicle has much better ability to jackrabbit start. The previous would just pour a lot of torque into the torque converter, thus making me wonder why they called it a torque converter? I suppose it just turned all that torque into nothing.

Anyway, I have always been a safe an courtious driver. However the smoothness of the Prius makes me feel much more confident and calm when I'm out there driving for myself and everyone else I'm unfortunately sharing the road with.

 

I do drive slightly slower than I used to, but sometimes I'm not as attentive because I'm looking at the MFD too much! The first week I had my Prius I ran a stop sign by accident! I was trying to achieve the "no arrows" that I've heard about here, and focusing on the energy screen. Now I pretty much ignore it, and leave it on consumption,which isn't as distracting.

I still don't get stellar mileage (45mpg average), but at least I'm paying attention to the road!

 

I've noticed a new peeve since I got my car: Now when people cut me off or forget to signal before they slam their brakes to turn, I'm upset that they are hurting my MPG by making me use my brakes!

I'm also more inconsiderate because I wont race to red lights anymore and people will tailgate or (briefly) motor around me to get to that stoplight a bit faster than my 'zen-like' gliding motion..

 

Interesting topic: I find myself wondering if, in the quest to maximize MPG performance, how often Prius drivers are more tempted to try to roll thru stop signs rather than hit "Full and complete" stops?

I have to admit, there are times when this is tempting.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"97432)</div>

Not to sound sexist, because it will, but most women drivers are like that. I never let _any_ of my female friends drive. I feel like I'm going to end up in the back of the car in front of me because of that same reason.

I was already an excellent driver before I got my Prius. However, pre-Prius, I was one of the fastest driving jerks on the road. I would cut you off from the right if I could, just to prove a point that you needed to keep right because you were too slow.

Now, I just stay in the right lane all the time. All my friends call me grandpa now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PhilCase\";p=\"97459)</div>

I've done it as an experiment in my neighborhood. If I 'slowly' *cough* roll through the two stop signs between my house and the freeway, I can stay on electric all the way from the freeway. Granted that I don't get stopped by any traffic lights. However, if I come to a complete stop, and I slowly start, the ICE will engage eventually. I wish the roads in the US were made like they are in Europe... More roundabouts and yield signs... Makes much more sense and I bet the Prius would reap the benefits.

 

hey hey hey hey. i'm a girl and i drive just fine. nicer than my husband even. i have always driven nicely, but drive even nicer now because
-the car is new and
-it's good for MPG and
-i prefer to be safe rather than take chances

 

I, too, am a better driver. My old car had 88 hp so i'm used to driving slow. I'm on my second tank and am at 55.2 mpg with 425 miles on it. (1st was 47mpg).

The question I ask myself is what do other drivers think.

I want everyone to get a prius, or hybrid, I let people ride in the car, show them that it has more pep than the media and commercials say. They are always surprised that I can weave in and out of traffic or catch a yellow light (if needed).

I like many of you, coast into red lights and slowly gap up in heavy highway traffic.

The thing I'm worried about is that the people behind me and other prius drivers will think that the car has no power at all, and can't even keep up with traffic, thus furthering the stigma.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(matrum\";p=\"97467)</div>

To quote my girlfriend exactly "Those drivers [Prius] are terrible, they're all old or drive like they are old and they don't think outside of the car."

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(matrum\";p=\"97467)</div>

"Gosh, would you look at that guy, he leaving 5 cars lengths between him and the car in front of him. What an old fart!"

 

Obviously the impact of driving a Prius has wide-ranging implications and establishing a calmer and more relaxing state of mind while driving is one of them as compared to the chaotic state that appears to be the status quo with many drivers.

One affect that driving the Prius has had on my driving habits is that I keep a close eye on patterns of traffic ahead of me in addition to noting the changes in traffic lights. If I note that a light is changing to yellow/red I immediately back off on the gas and at the same time if I note that a light is green I may slightly accelerate to assure I get through the light without having to stop. I may have done this pre-Prius but I'm much more concious of it now. I actually don't mind stopping at lights because I know I'm not wasting gas when at a standstill.

I would be interesting to have a study done on driving habits across various types of cars for comarative purposes. Has anyone ever seen this done??

 

since getting my Prius i am much more calmer than before. my stress level is lower now (in fact there were a few times i would go for a drive to calm down) and i actually enjoy driving again.

a typical commute to work. 4 lane throughfare for 5 of the 8 miles. 35-40 mph speed limit. a few lights on major intersections. i follow along at nearly double the recommended following distance. at every light, average 3-4 cars punching it to go around me so they can slam on the brakes and wait at the light. (on average i have gotten to the point where there are some lights i stop at maybe once a month) i start coasting early and frequently coming rolling up to the line of cars as they just start to move away from the light. never have to touch the brakes or maybe touch them very lightly.

most people find that their city driving gets them worse mileage than the freeway, which is just the opposite of the EPA, that used to be true for me. (the fact that at 65 mph, i can EASILY exceed the EPA makes it tougher for city driving to match)

i find that now that my city driving is exceeding the EPA (averaging just about 62-63 mpg) along with 54-56 mpg freeway just makes it that much more fun to drive my Prius.

i now volunteer to drive places with members of my family when before i was content to ride along. (my car was an embarrassment to show in public anyway)

and one thing i have to say about giving other drivers misleading impressions about the Prius' power by driving slowly... i stopped thinking like that when I got my Prius because i realized that that thinking i should have out-grown by the time i was 18. instead i think of the high gas prices and the $516.20 i have spent to drive over 13,600 miles. that makes my fuel costs of LESS THAN 4 CENTS PER MILE

 

I feel the same way about driving to calm down. I used to do that, back when gas cost less than a dollar a gallon. Then it got unreasonable and I was in college with no money.

Now, I'll go out for a half hour drive to calm the nerves after a long stressful day or if I'm wide awake late at night. It's very relaxing.

 

Absolutely. It's part of the Karma of the Kar.

 

NO!, GOD NO!

When I drive my BMW I'm focused on one thing, the road. The car is too expensive to **** up by hitting some stupid box or animal.

In the prius I couldn't care less. If I bottom out pulling out of a drive way... ooo well. I don't care.

My bimmer is so low that if I were to bottom out I would be replacing the front bumper. And at the same time, I do a whole range of task in my BMW that I can't seem to get down in my Prius.

Like Knee driving. I can drive my whole freeway commute with my knee in my BMW. This leaves my hands free to eat lunch and change CDs.. and I can do this all without taking my eyes off the road.

I can't do that at all in the Prius. I have to look down to find the right buttons for the radio. I have to deal with the stupid 6 disk cd changer so I constantly need to check what cd number I'm replacing.

Its alot harder to reach into the back seat on the Prius too. I often have to look back there to find what I'm looking for.

Also, I don't have to drive fast in the bimmer to feel like I'm going fast. I can punch the accelerator at any speed and get pushed back in my seat. I end up driving alot faster in the Prius because I'm looking for that same feeling.

I don’t have control over the gears in the Prius. I can’t down shift into turns and to pass people. I can’t up shift to coast. I don’t have to do any work to drive my Prius. That’s why I don’t like it. I’m too lazy in that car.

Plus the sound system sucks… And I like listening to music.